In the field of targets for shooters, it has long been a goal to have a target which, in addition to presenting a preferred striking area, will give an indication of where the target has been struck. One example of this is the paper or cardboard "Bullseye" type target, however, because in most cases, the bullets which strike the target are rather small in comparison to the target and especially in relationship to the distance between the target and the shooter, either the shooter must walk up to the target to inspect it or be equipped with rather powerful binoculars for observation. One very apparent disadvantage of the "Bullseye" type target, is the fact that the target becomes progressively destroyed as it is being used.
Now there have been targets of sorts which have been developed which do give reactions when struck, for example, Hanson, in U.S. Pat. No. 741,131, illustrates a human-like structure which stands on a platform to receive the fired bullets and when the bullet penetrates a centrally located opening in the human-like target, the target falls backwards and lays upon the ground. One obvious disadvantage of this type of target is it is necessary to hit the specific set-out target area in order to obtain an indication of being hit, and that being hit around the specific target area, but still upon the human-like target, does not give any indication. In addition, the target must be manually returned to an upright position.
Another human-like target which is in the art is the summy for military practice invented by Dietz and shown in U.S. Pat. No. 906,392. Here a human-like torso is suspended upon a rod emminating from the ground, the rod being characterized by a spring wrapped around a portion of the upright rod. In this situation, the human-like figure is free to bend in any direction and return to an upright position when the displacing force is removed. The target is intended for use of weapons of war such as the lance, the sword, and the bayonet.
One obvious disadvantage of the Dietz device is that once the target has been displaced from its normal resting position, the target will proceed to oscilate back and forth until all of the energy has been dissipated in the return spring. Therefore, it is not immediately ready for the next reaction until the oscillations have ceased. This is the reason that it was used primarily for direct engagement by the lance, the sword, or the bayonet since the time between successive strikes or attacks from these types of weapons is much greater than being struck by a person firing a handgun or a rifle as fast as they might at the target.
Other types of targets are known which perform a function of rotating backwards when hit and then either returning to an upright position or remaining knocked back until reset. Examples of these types of targets are found in Bennett, U.S. Pat. No. 927,631; Dimick, U.S. Pat. No. 994,986; and Davidson et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,844,559.
Obviously, there is a need for a shooters' target which gives an immediate visual and audio reaction to being struck by the shooters' bullets, as well as to have a reaction time and time to return to initial original position so swift that the target is useful in fast shooting situations.